Camellia
by Scherezarde
Summary: In N's eyes she was an overly active lady whose compassion towards pokemon rivals his, but in her eyes N was nothing more than a calculative idiot. N x Touko/White
1. Prologue

It was the day they had all been waiting for, the day when two heroes of different ideals clashed, the battle in which would determine the fate of Unova once and for all.

But she wasn't there.

N, wrapped in a silky white cape along with a matching gold trimmed white tunic and wood colored baggy pants, looked absolutely dashing, if it weren't for his look of dismay pasted firmly on his face. He scanned through the crowd of spectators, a mix of important looking and influential people all gathered around to witness the continent changing battle, but that was all irrelevant to him, for all he could, and wanted, to see was the face of the familiar brunette whom he had been waiting for in his whole life, whom he needed to defeat in order to realize his dream of pokemon liberation.

But she was nowhere to be seen.

Turning over to the massive white dragon pokemon standing gallantly, probably enjoying the attention on it, Reshiram noticed its master's stare, its blue irises scanning through the crowd, only to return with a disapproving glance at him.

2 hours had already passed by from the promised time, the 3 o'clock afternoon sun hanging high above their heads. But she was still out of sight. The crowd was beginning to show signs of impatience, and also scowls started appearing from one face to another.

"Why isn't she coming?" N murmured in a daze. Did she chicken out last minute? '… No that is impossible,' shaking his head to rid himself of the idea, he reminisced the times when she would endanger herself just for her pokemon, and how she fought regardless of how the tides were turned against her.

She would fight him and his Reshiram head on even if all she had on her was her trusty starter Samurott with no potions nor revives if the situation calls for it.

'Then why is she not here yet?' N gritted his teeth frustratingly, knuckles white from clenching too hard. At this, Reshiram cooed, staring at its master worriedly as he snapped back to reality, "I'm fine, thanks for worrying," N ruffled the fluffy feathers beside him. "Touko… just where are you?"

* * *

3 hours ago…

Gloves, checked. Shirt, nice and ironed. Pants, as ruffled as ever. Hair, tied neatly, not much baby hair poking out luckily. Bag, all packed. Now is to just slip on the running shoes and she'll be ready to go for the final match.

She had promised to give a ride to not only her childhood friends, Bianca and Cheren, but also her mom on Zekrom's back, from Nuvema town to the North of Victory Road, where Team Plasma's castle awaits. She jumped as a huge red sclera peeped through the window of her room, blocking off the natural rays of sunlight and her room became pitch black. With only Zekrom's red eye as illumination.

"The same ol' trick won't work twice!" snickering, Touko walked towards the window and opened it, patting the sides of Zekrom's eye. The first time Zekrom did it, Touko had screamed at the top of her lungs and it was so loud that her mom and neighbors had rushed over in panic. Zekrom was amused by the different reaction he got from his master, and thus wanted to try it again. 'But this response isn't half bad either,' closing its eyes, Zekrom gave a soft purr, completely off of the grand legendary air it had always gave.

"I'll be counting on you again, partner," Touko whispered with a smile, "Pokemon liberation, why doesn't N see that humans AND pokemon are both important!" a pout now visible on her face before she ended the sentence with a "Stupid N." She mused.

She was the almighty heroine in everyone's eyes. Sure, it was an immense pressure, but with not only Zekrom but her dear team fighting along in a 6v6 battle, she had the confidence of a Charizard that she could nail the battle, not without struggles of course, but it was a gut feeling that she will do fine.

"Mom's taking too long," Touko gave a quick peek to the clock hanging on the walls of the living room, then back to the main entrance door. Her mother was a woman of punctuality, and Touko knew this far better than anyone thanks to the years she grew up being lectured of it for being late for not only classes but almost everything else. They were supposed to leave by 11 o'clock, with Zekrom flying slower than usual due to the extra weight, but it doesn't seem to mind, and they would reach Victory Road 15 minutes prior to the battle.

* * *

11.15a.m.

Bianca and Cheren exchanged worried glances at each other, then the heroine. She was the most worried of them all. They had been waiting for her mother to come back, as she said she needed to go to the grocer in Accumula Town to get some snacks for after the battle, but has yet to return.

"It'll be a short trip, I'll be back in a jiffy," her mother said earlier that day, even forgetting to bring her Xtransceiver with her, tested through calling and the ringtone rang somewhere in the house.

An ominous feeling had crept up to Touko that she couldn't shake off. Unable to contain her worries, without a word she dashed out of the door as if on impulse, Zekrom immediately landed before her, lowering his body close to the ground for the girl to mount easily.

"To Accumula Town, hurry!" Touko pleaded as Zekrom stole a glance at her, giving a short cry before bolting off from the ground, Cheren and Bianca gaping from her sudden actions before calling their respective pokemons, following Touko's trail as fast as their small feet could.

The wind and air rushed through her hair and into her eyes, squinting against the sunlight pouring through the clouds. It was a perfect day for flying, but that was beside the point now.

'Mom probably went all out buying stuff that she forgot her time,' Touko laughed nervously, but that bit of fear still hung on her heart like a Spinarak on its thread. No matter how hard she had tried to convince herself, the anxiety only grew. All she could do was to find out what happened herself.

Clouds aside, Accumula Town was finally in view. Touko could see everything from high up, the small crowd of people gathering outside the pokeMart included.

Touko tapped Zekrom's side twice, a signal it knew well that Touko wants to land here. Following her wishes, Zekrom stopped in the middle of open area of the town, turning the attention of the crowd to it almost immediately as gusts of wind were spreading everywhere of its landing.

"Touko the hero!?" a middle aged man immediately recognized her.

"Why is she here?" the crowd startled by her sudden appearance, Touko was apologetic but she didn't want to waste any more time as she was getting more and more unsettled as time passed. Pushing pass the crowd, which eventually cleared a way for her, she saw an unconscious Tauros, body battered and weary, but beside it lay a body of a woman.

She didn't want to believe her eyes, no matter how harsh reality was. She looked away, eyes now focused on the items that scattered all over the ground around them.

Blueberry muffins, and it was her favorite brand.

Chocolate sticks as well as the sitrus berry poffins her Samurott always craved for were among the huge mess.

Touko's face fell faster than a Shellgon trying to fly. In that instant her skin became greyed, mouth hung with lips slightly parted and her eyes were as wide as they could stretch as a familiar figure came into sight. That atrocious hairstyle that she could remember no matter how hard she tried to erase from her mind, it didn't take long before her shock swiftly turned into rage.

Colress.

The last time she met him was when he had tried to kidnap numerous pokemon for the sake of his experiments. That one incident was more than enough to strike him into her blacklist of people she will never acknowledge and would beat the crap out of if she had the chance.

And now he stood among the crowd, a weird device in his hands. In front of her mother.

Seeing the unconscious Tauros and its worried trainer now beside it, Touko had resisted the urge to punch him in the face right here and right now, despite her seething hatred that grew towards him. She could only click her tongue in rage and ran towards her mother, checking for injuries along with a few bystanders.

Touko had released an unconsciously held breath as she checked for her mother's pulse and thank Arceus it was still there. But it was weak. There was also a drips of blood forming on her forehead – probably due to the impact.

"This is…" dismounting from his Stoutland, Cheren analyzed the situation, Bianca following close behind.

"Has anyone called for an ambulance yet?" Bianca shouted to the crowd, a man responding with a 'yes' and that it should arrive any second now, also explaining that the Tauros ran rampant suddenly, bashing all in its way, Touko's mother included.

Cheren darted into the crowd, his hand grabbing a white sleeve firmly as he asked the man who was leaving, "Where do you think you're going?" Colress gulped.

It was all so surreal. Touko should be on the way to Victory Road now, beat some sense into N and all of Unova will be peaceful as it should be.

But now she was in an ambulance, on the way to a hospital in Castelia City. Going by Zekrom would be much faster, but the air resistance and strong wind would not be favorable especially to an unconscious person. Withdrawing Zekrom back into its Masterball, Touko sat beside her mother, guilt written all over her face.

"Leave Colress to us, we'll handle him," Cheren said earlier with a tone of spite in his voice, refusing to let go of his grip on the scientist.

Touko was hesitant to board the vehicle. She knew far well that if she went, it means ditching the battle with N. It will betray the hopes and expectations of her many followers of Unova who were against N's ideals. However, Bianca placed hands over Touko's, "Go with your mother to the hospital, Cheren and I will handle things from here," as she pushed her back encouragingly.

"But the battle-"

"That can wait! You can always have your rematch anytime!" Bianca shouted impatiently, "But that's your mother over there, your one and only mother! You won't get a second chance for family!" with eyes tearing up for her friend, "Just go already!"

* * *

Like hail on a glass pane, the drumming of her fingers was as relentless just as it was loud. Most of the patients were either in their rooms during this hour, with nurses running in and out occasionally, but the waiting room was empty most of the time. The air was stuffy with an undertone of bleach, which only helped fuel the anxiety within her.

It has been close to 2 hours, and the hours seemed to pass by endlessly. The light to the surgery room was still lit, and all Touko could do now was nothing but wait for the news. Her face, rigid with tension, belied her usual youthfulness, and she seemed to have aged a decade in the past few hours. The deafening silence was unnerving her more and more as time passed, making her regret not asking for Bianca, even Cheren would do, to keep her company. But she knew both of them were needed to not only inform Alder, who was not only the champion but also the judge of the match that she would not make it, and another to get Colress to confess his crimes. Touko had not the selfish heart to keep them to herself so she held back.

Holding Samurott's pokeball in hand, she prayed for forgiveness. Not only for disappointing the whole of Unova with her absence, but also for her partners who were fired up for the battle just hours ago.

The deafening silence was one problem, but the noise of paparazzi now right outside the metal hospital doors was another. The whir and click of shutters rang nonstop as the reporters, probably catching wind of her mother being hospitalized here, tried to barge in and she could hear the hospital guards fending off the pushy reporters and cameramen, shouting at them to leave but of course, it fell on deaf ears.

Now curling up in a fetal position in a dusty corner of the waiting room, Touko hoped for the noise to disappear. Her one and only wish now was only see her mother back on her feet, smiling at her as she always had been.

Touko had never been a homey person, with her always venturing outside in the wilds and sightseeing in the city rather than staying home all day, quite the opposite of her mother who had been frail right after her dad passed away. But time had probably healed her wounds as she continued loving her beloved daughter, the only family she had left in this world. The daughter who only comes home once every few weeks after she had started her pokemon journey, which was several months since then. One day she left home with her new partner Oshawott whom she was so proud of from Professor Juniper, the next time she comes back on the back of a legendary dragon. Thus, they never had a lot of chances for a mother to daughter talk, in which Touko regrets so much.

She had only heard such phrases from those emo songs she occasionally heard from the radio or in public areas, but she is now painfully aware of how horrible it feels when someone you love dearly leaves you. 'Nono, she's not even dead yet Touko don't go making an angst story over what hasn't happened yet!' Touko gave a quick slap to herself, the burning sensation on her cheeks snapping her back into reality. 'This had happened once, but Mom got better,' reminiscing the time when her mother had been admitted into the hospital due to an abnormally high fever, 'yeah, she'll be back home in a week or so cooking in the kitchen the next time I visit, oh boy will she be surprised when I come back more often this tim-'

Drip.

A tear had rolled down her cheek, shattering to pieces onto her quivering hands. And as the first fell, tears had burst forth like water from a dam, spilling down her face. She could feel the muscles of her chin tremble like a small child she used to be, now looking towards the window, as if the light could soothe her. The static in her head resounded once more, the side effect of her constant fear, constant stress she lives with.

'What if I can never see mom again? Just like dad?'

She hears her own sounds, similar to a distressed child, raw from the inside. It takes something out of her she didn't know she had left to give. It's like a theft of the spirit, an injury no other person can see.

* * *

Alder couldn't believe his ears as Bianca scurried up the stage as soon as Unfezant, which Bianca borrowed from Cheren as a means of transport, landed on the ground, both pokemon and rider gasping for air.

"Mrs. White was?" the champion mused as his face immediately knitted into a tight frown.

"Can the battle be delayed," Bianca panted, "To another time?" her eyes pleaded behind her red framed spectacles. "That's all I ask for!"

"Nonsense!" a voice boomed from a distance. "She had abandoned the match, thus it is a default loss for that cheeky brat- trainer!" Bianca could only glare at the smug face dark figure just seats away.

Ghetsis.

Bianca bit her lower lip in frustration. She was never a fighter, always protected by Touko and Cheren whenever a problem arises, always kept in the dark until all was solved. "Like hell I'll just sit still and accept that!" she shouted back with pent up anger, the man flinching at her sudden outburst. Forget Ghetsis, even Alder, who had been beside her, had eyes so big she swore it could've popped out of its sockets if someone hit him from the back of his head. At this, an uproar could be heard from the spectators, reporters and cameramen scurrying close in an attempt to get a scoop from this huge mess.

Fierce debates now resounded throughout the arena, the atmosphere tense and rigid with tension.

"She prioritized her mother over the whole of Unova! That's no hero!" a man shouted from somewhere, voice ringing clear across the arena.

Another stood up in response, screaming "A fallen hero!"

As soon as the scream ended, part of the audience began chanting it like a spell, as if to spite their hero for abandoning them.

"Down with the fallen hero!"

Bianca gulped at the scenario unfolding before her. She knew the audience wouldn't accept the fact that easily, she also felt partially responsible as she was the one who had convinced Touko to leave, thus she was part to be blamed. But never did she thought the rejection would be so strong from the audience, the heated debate soon ended, ending up with several members of the audience now speaking with their fists.

Alder clicked his tongue, obviously irritated, "This is going nowhere," now reaching to one of the pokeballs fixed onto his cloak, "Braviary, I choose you!"

A large, avian pokemon appeared in a flash of red, its fierce cry echoed all over the arena, the ground shaking slightly as the arena finally had a moment of silence.

"Unovians," Alder's voice, as valiant as ever, said, "I understand your worries to the bottom of my heart, but violence will not solve anything!"

"Which is all the more reason to crown N as the new King of Unova," Ghetsis stood up to face Alder. "N has been under my guidance since young, he has the knowledge, potential and rights to become our ruler!" now turning to Bianca he now said it with hidden malice, "Unlike the rookie trainer from who knows where, it is obvious to predict the victor of the battle would be none other than our glorious lord N! Why must we wait for a hero whom abandoned her match?"

"He's taking every advantage he can get that old sly fox!" Bianca cursed under her breath, Alder patting her shoulders as a sign of consolation but she couldn't do anything. Most of the crowd were won over by Ghetsis' 'touching' speech, chanting "Long live team Plasma!" when she was just **this** close to punching that smug smirk off that old man's face.

"Go ahead, lord N, the whole of Unova awaits you!" Ghetsis now stepped aside, allowing the main spotlight to now shine on N who had been silent the whole time.

N only muttered, "This isn't right." Walking past Ghetsis and now standing in front of Bianca and Alder, Reshiram's turquoise blue eyes following him, "Take me to her side," he said what not seems to be a favor, but an order.

Ghetsis gaped at his answer, recovering quickly he slammed his walking stick onto the concrete floor, "N, I shall not tolerate such misbehavior! You have won, the crown is now all yours to take!" he reasoned, "Do you not want to realize your ideals of pokemon liberation?"

"I do," N now grabbed Bianca's wrist, "But I want to realize it in my own way," void of emotions he continued, "I do not take pride in defeating an injured opponent."

"Injured?" Ghetsis stared at him, confused.

"My friend here told me," N patted Cheren's Unfezant on its head, the latter cooing at his touch, "He said Touko is hurt. She cannot battle. So she cannot attend."

Ghetsis's face now contorted with fury. He was as angry as a Primeape whose food was stolen from it, eyes sparkled with ferocity but all that was but for naught when Reshiram suddenly moved, feet now off the ground as it scooped N, along with Bianca up on its back in the span of not more than a second. "Where is she?" N asked once more, but this time impatience was blunt in his voice.

"C-Castelia Hospital," Bianca stammered trying to recover from the surprise as N sat behind her, arms covering her both sides to avoid her from falling over.

"Reshiram, can you take us there?" N asked and the white dragon gave a cry in response, bursting forward with all its speed has to offer.

And all the way behind Cheren's Unfezant stared at Alder, lost in confusion.

"You're coming with me buddy," Alder sighed and got onto his Braviary, "I don't trust that doll of a prince with Bianca," and they set off chasing Reshiram's back which was almost hidden in between clouds. "And return you to Cheren, she's way too forgetful!"

And somewhere among the clouds Bianca sneezed.

* * *

Notes

Annnnnd here it is my first Pokemon fanfic, a billion thanks to me bestie Rei for helping me with not only proofreading but also for the ideas and inspiration! Hope you enjoyed it, constructive criticism is always welcomed thanks!


	2. Castelia City Crisis

There's no undo, and there's no repeat,

Can't go back to how we used to be.

There's no restart but only proceed,

Take up from where we've left off and see.

-Ga1ahad and Scientific Witchery by Mili

* * *

The city was overcrowded of people, skyscrapers, houses and buildings. Definitely a place N would avoid at all costs if it weren't for this peculiar situation. The exhaust from a billion cars filled the atmosphere and that, combined with the sewage from a local power station fused to the creation of the most pungent, vulgar smell known to mankind.

The tall skyscrapers that reached out to the skies were just too much for a huge dragon such as Reshiram to land, setting the panicking citizens aside, thus they had to land at Nimbasa city, the closest city possible to Castelia.

Waiting for the people around to stay clear of the amusement park took a good few minutes, with the help of a few wild pokemon who chased away the people before Reshiram landed – to avoid casualties from being squashed by the giant fluff dragon.

As if every second mattered, N jumped off Reshiram as soon as the fall wouldn't hurt him, hesitating to withdraw Reshiram back into its ball and tugged at his guide, urging her to hurry up. He wasn't familiar with the city, and finding it himself would take up too much time in a city as large as this, which is the purpose of him bringing the blonde girl along. Bianca was already fatigued from the flight, probably before that even, but N was too preoccupied with finding Touko that he hadn't realized, or didn't bother to care.

She missed her chance to ask earlier as the wind drowned out every single sound she could make, but now that they were on the ground, "What are you going to do when you see her?" questioned Bianca, stopping in her tracks. Surrounded by houses and buildings, Bianca knew N couldn't summon Reshiram easily without breaking a few of them, which she hopes he still had the reason in him.

At this, a few wild Purrloins and Patrats immediately surrounded her, despite N's arm still digging into her skin, all fangs bared and ready to strike if she makes any movement. But they backed down as soon as N waved a hand at them.

"I'll bring her to the castle," N replied briefly, pulling at Bianca's arm to get her to move, but this time she stubbornly planted her feet to the ground.

Bianca had been hesitant to let them meet, seeing as how unstable Touko was the last she saw her. But the way they treated her only proved her gut feeling right.

'They must not meet,' the words resounded in Bianca's mind like a spell as she raised her hand, pursing her lips she whipped it across the pale slender hand hurting her. The crack of skin contacting skin echoed as vibrations of pain started in her palm, spreading to all the way to her fingertips. Her palm was glowing bright red, a similar red mark that matched the one on N's hand. He stared at Bianca with his eyes wide open, Bianca now withdrawing her released arm from him.

She should've felt some kind of remorse, hitting someone she barely knew wasn't something she would do if she were her normal self. But she didn't. Not one organ in her body could produce guilt for her actions as she threw one of her pokeballs to the ground beside her, "Musharna, stop N from meeting Touko!"

* * *

Tap. Tap.

Touko lifted her head in response. Her eyes had been red and puffy from the crying, but thanks to it she had most probably calmed down, for now. Rubbing her eyes to clear the haziness, the person who stood before her was none other than the doctor himself. Turning over to the operation room, indeed the light has gone off.

'How is mom? Is she alright? Can I see her now?' all the questions popped up from her head, but her voice refused to cooperate, not a single word was spoken. She wanted to know how her mother was doing, yet she was afraid of the answer.

Ignorance was truly a bliss.

The doctor was a man in his middle fifties, face timeworn and wrinkled, she noted. He had crouched down so that they can meet each other eye to eye, and it seemed as if he was trying to piece together what to say as well.

"Your mother's life isn't in danger," he blurted after seconds of silence.

Touko was about to burst into another fit of tears, but tears of relief – if she hadn't saw the doctor's expression. He wasn't smiling. Tensed, mixed emotions showed which only meant that wasn't all to the case. She remained silent, eyes waiting and pleading for his explanation, hands still gripping, trembling against Samurott's pokeball.

"It was just… not her lucky day," after inhaling a deep breath, the doctor's deep voice explained, "The impact on her brain was too much, causing the layers of the brain to bleed. The injured side of the brain compresses and swells, causing damage to the brainstem and the RAS-"

Her mind just shut off at that point. The doctor was speaking, yet it sounded as if it were an alien language to her. Well, she didn't do THAT well in her biology exams when she was still in the Academy, but she couldn't understand a word until –

"She'll be in an indefinite coma."

The words hit her harder than any beating she had ever taken in the world.

As if the world had collapsed, her broken heart was still for a moment, she only felt numbness. Her mind went blank, as did her heart.

"Whether she wakes up or not would depend on her emotional state, and also her will," glumly, "There is only so much our technology and medication can do. This must be hard on you, Ms. White, but please hang in there. Your mother should be alright for visiting in an hour or so."

"Thank you..." the hero said weakly, unsteady on her feet as she stood up. The doctor had offered her his hand, but she merely shrugged it off. For now, she needed time to be alone-

And it was that moment the doors slammed open.

* * *

"Zoroark, Night Slash!" N commanded as his Zoroark, yet again, landed a critical hit onto Musharna. The frail looking tapir pokemon, once again flew back due to the impact. Bianca ran as fast as her feet could take her, reaching out and catching it in her arms, cushioning its fall but stumbled backwards on the ground along with her pokemon.

Bianca knew N was strong, he is the leader of team Plasma after all, even if he was just a figure head, but she hadn't expect him to be _this_ strong. It was only his first pokemon, Zoroark and her whole team had been wiped off the floor clean. The one remaining pokemon left standing was none other than her first pokemon, Musharna. 'How does Touko even stand on par with him?' Bianca laughed dryly, brushing off the dirt on her shirt.

"Musharna, you are wiser than this! Know what's right and back down, I don't want to hurt you anymore than this!" N reasoned, his compassion towards pokemon is definitely much more than what he spared for humans. "Leave this battle, and your trainer if you can!" Zoroark crying along as if he was repeating what N had said.

But Musharna stood in between them. The lights in its eyes were yet to be gone as it glowed in a pale green light.

' _Recover_ again?' even Bianca was taken aback. That was the only reason why Musharna was still standing despite all the blows, including the attribute damage. As her longtime partner, Bianca knew far well than anyone else that Musharna was already going way past its limit.

It was stalling for time.

Musharna could only use five recovers per match without break, but this was its seventh. She was starting to get worried.

The battle halted as N didn't issue any commands, Zoroark standing by his side. From the looks of it, they were probably conversing in their own language.

"First Touko and now this, why does everything affiliated with that trainer mess up all my calculations?" N muttered under his breath.

'You will not pass here,' Musharna's cry was filled with resolve despite its battered up body.

"I want to bring her to Anthea and Concordia, they are well versed in medications and will know how to heal her!" N reasoned, "Then we will have our match and everything will be solved! So why do you stand in my way?"

'You are far too naive, young king,' it said, getting into its battle stance. 'That will only make it worse. Just leave it to my master and her friends!'

'And how long will that be, huh?' Zoroark snorted, 'The two humans will heal her in no time, and then we will finally be free, stop delaying our plans!'

"I thought I could trust you with Touko," disheartened, Bianca pointed at him angrily, "You blockhead!"

"Blockhead?" he turned his attention to Bianca at the insult, "What gives you the right to call me tha-"

"You don't understand how delicate a human heart is! At all!" she cried as Musharna head-butted Zoroark right against the head, the latter flinching back with a pained cry, "Now I'm regretting completely on trusting you!"

"What a coincidence, I no longer have any use of you then," N retorted, "Zoroark, crush her! I'll find the place myself!"

"Bring it on!" Bianca stammered slightly at his declaration. She didn't care what happened to her, but it was heart wrenching to see her Musharna getting beaten up right before her eyes. In one fell swoop Musharna was knocked back for too many times to count. Bianca was ready to catch it once more, arms open and she could feel herself falling backwards. Bracing herself for impact she steeled herself, eyes closed.

Poof.

'Poof?' her brain was confused. The ground felt like a well fluffed feather pillow, warm and cozy. She opened her eyes that had been screwed shut and blinked twice, a ruffled patch of feathers greeting her sight.

"Well said, Bianca!" a roar thundered, the sound of feet landing on the ground loud and clear. Sure, there was only one man Bianca knew who would laugh so outrageously, taking off her glasses to inspect the lenses.

"Champion Alder?"

"The one and only," a grin so bright it could've blinded her, Alder now stood back against her, facing her opponent. "My bad for coming late, I never thought the day would come that I get to witness a battle between you and N," he chuckled and caressed the Braviary who had brought him here, "It was too interesting that I couldn't help but spectate."

"A little help earlier would be appreciated," Bianca pouted hugging her Musharna, the stress she had earlier completely dissipated in the atmosphere, "Thanks for helping, Braviary," stroking its feathers Braviary cooed in response happily.

Alder despaired, "What, no gratitude for me?"

"Says the spectator, Braviary was the one who helped," Bianca eyed him as though his bullshit meter was ticking in the red zone.

"She's right," N nodded in sync with Zoroark from a distance.

"My pride as an ex-champion," Alder kneeled on the floor in further despair, "All gone, with the wind."

'Did you even have any?' four pairs of eyes blinked in unison.

"Ahem," the ex-champion coughed before the current champion, "Bianca, it's alright for them to meet."

'He's definitely changing the topic,' both trainers and pokemon locking each other's eyes in mutual understanding, Zoroark rolling an eye at him even.

"I just got news," he pointed, "Check your Xtransceiver."

Swiftly gazing down to turn on hers, she fiddled between channels until she stopped at the local news.

"We're live and back from commercial break - Reporter Jeanne is there right now, let's look at the condition outside Castelia Hospital, Jeanne, can you hear me?" a lady was shown on the screen, N leaning closer to listen.

"Test, hello?" the screen switched to the lady whom probably went by the name 'Jeanne', "As you can see, the condition outside the hospital is absolutely bizarre!" she exclaimed, "There are so many people around, all protesting against the hero Touko, it is too packed up to even go close- wait I see her! Cameraman, over there!" the focus of the camera changed to the outdoor park of the hospital, due to the magnification the figure was blurred, but anyone would be able to recognize the hero with her bushy ponytail behind even if they couldn't see her face.

"The hero said whoever who wants an interview, or to meet and talk to her has to first beat her in a double battle," one of the bystander there explained, N grimacing at the word 'battle'. "Apparently all 12 challengers were all defeated with one hit KOs."

"Double battle?" puzzled, Bianca paused the airing, quickly screenshot the picture and enlarged it.

A familiar shade of scarlet, probably a hat was seen blur in the image. Bianca and Alder both knew only one person who would wear that along with the sky blue jacket in the image, a huge unknown pokemon standing beside him.

"Touya is back!" Bianca shrieked in joy at this, N who was now standing beside her to watch jumped in shock, earning a snicker from his Zoroark.

N immediately took a few steps back, his face slightly darkening, "Who is Touya?"

"Oh, he's Touko's-"

Alder's voice was muffled, a hand covering before he could utter the continuation. He now stared at the owner of the hand - Bianca.

"None of your concern, if Touko is up and about wrecking trainers and reporters, she could most probably wreck you as well," smirked Bianca, her words earning a snarl from both Zoroark and N.

Bianca chuckling inside on how easy it was to provoke him (and advert his attention), N bursted, "She will not win against me, for I am the Hero of Truth!"

"Save your fancy language for later if you win, won't you?" Bianca provoked further, "Touko is strong!"

"Then show me the way, overconfident woman," N let off a disgruntled growl.

"Of course, _your Majesty_ ," she replied along with a curtsy.

N seemed contented with it, nodding his head satisfyingly.

"You do know that was sarcasm, right?" Bianca was dumbfounded at his reaction.

"I do not," he replied so earnestly that Bianca and Alder almost choked on her own laughter, "Now hurry up and show the way!"

"Before that," Alder grabbed their attention, "Wait for a few seconds, it should almost be here."

"You brought back up?" N was on high alert now.

"Ah, there it is," holding a hand to cover his eyes from the bright sunlight, a shadow flew above them, landing down as soon as it spotted them.

Bianca immediately paled at the panting creature with grey feathers.

"Unfezant!" she shrieked again and hugged, "Oh my GOD. I'm so so soooooo sorry!"

"Cheren will definitely be pissed if he knew," Alder laughed, causing Bianca's to turn a shade paler.

* * *

When the doors started to slam Touko knew the shouting match was just getting started. After that everyone would be stampeding in, igniting the air that has been left brittle by the news. Tears were already brimming in her eyes and it took almost all of her efforts to stop them from falling off again.

However, as soon a figure came in, that person slammed the door shut with a bang, keeping the rest out of the room. Taking off his hat, a head of messy brown hair came into view. "Hey sis," he said awkwardly, walking and sitting right next to Touko.

"Touya..." as soon as she muttered his name, her tears had fell down the third time for the day. "Mom was-"

"I heard everything from Cheren," he interrupted, "You don't need to say anything. Aunt White will be alright, don't worry," giving her a consoling hug, "Everything will be alright," he repeated, hands gently stroking her hair to calm her down.

Touya. Touko's cousin. A person whom Touko looks up to, not only as a big brother figure, but also as a trainer. She had learnt all the basics of battling and survival skills from him, and even now his battling skills were probably equal, or even better than hers. He was most probably the most suitable person to offer her reassurance, which Cheren knew best.

"Weren't you," Touko sniffled, her cousin handing her a tissue to blow her nose with, "in Kanto?" she continued.

"I was nearby by coincidence, I only pushed my plans forward a little sooner when Cheren called," Touya decided mentioning he came to watch her big battle was not to be spoken of as of now.

"I see..." breaking the hug, Touko sat beside, giving another blow to the tissue in hand.

"Look at the mess you're in," he chuckled, "There are even fans and reporters waiting for you outside now, how you've grown."

"That is indeed a problem," Touko chortled along, "A hero level problem."

"Do you remember the easiest and most effective way to shut pushy people up?" Touya stood up, a hand reached out to his cousin. She hesitated slightly, one hand still holding onto Samurott's pokeball, the other placed gently in Touya's palm, the boy supporting her up from her slump.

"How could I forget?" Wiping away her tears she straightened up her posture and clothes. Though her eyes were puffy she was too fed up to care. She might as well use this as a chance to distract herself for the moment.

Instead of sitting and waiting for them to barge in, potentially disturbing the patients and doctors working inside, Touko and Touya both jumped out from the window, which was on the second floor to their advantage.

Touya had jumped first, landing to the branch of a tall tree right beside the window. Now extending his hand, Touko jumped right after, both of them now landing on the warm grass of the outdoor hospital park, the doctor gaped from the window in disbelief.

"The hero is over here!" Touya shouted from the top of his lungs, the few patients strolling by diverted their gaze to them, the scoop hungry reporters as well. They had all gathered in the park which no longer seem large due to the mass gathering, but left enough space around the duo for a battle.

"Listen up, those who are unsatisfied with me as a hero, those who wish to ask me questions, those who are just unhappy with my existence!" Touko's voice projected loud and clear around her, "Come at me not with words, but with battles! Prove that me and my decisions were wrong, and I will make an official statement to the Elite Four that I, the Hero of Ideals forfeit this match!"

"You mean 'us'," Touya stepped up to stand beside her. "Those who have the confidence to beat us in a double battle, come forward," his hands already on his poke balls, "I've always wanted to try out my Kanto partners against the people here!"

'So that was his intentions,' even his own partner, Touko was baffled at Touya's new partner.

Several trainers were seen holding up their pokedex, the target of its camera was none other than the huge pokemon unknown to Unovians.

"Snorlax," a pokedex resounded, "A docile pokemon that children use its expansive belly as a place to play. Its stomach can digest any food, even if it is moldy or rotten. It stops eating only to sleep."

A few trainers were seen visibly relaxed when they saw the word 'docile', a few lining up to challenge the duo.

The first was a motorcyclist full of confidence, "I'm a heartbreaker... My name... Charles," calling out a Zebstrika almost immediately, "I'm always on full throttle," along with a School kid who seemed to have been forcefully made to join the double battle, using a Simisage.

And both were squashed.

Samurott barely moved before Snorlax stood up, changing its direction before falling back against the ground, squashing the two pokemon underneath with almost no effort.

"Hey, you," Touya's eyes squinted out into the audience, where a young boy and girl stood together. They were startled at the sudden attention, the young girl hugging the Purrloin in her arms tightly. Immediately feeling bad for his tone, Touya squat down in front of the dark blue-haired boy, "I won't eat you. You're too close to the ring, back down a little."

The boy covered his sister protectively from Touya, making him feel even guiltier. At this, Touko also came forward, "We're sorry for scaring you," patting the kid on his head, "But can you help out elder sister and brother here?"

"Brother! It's the hero!" the sister cried in joy, "She's talking to us!" Touya seemed slightly discouraged at the difference in reaction.

Touko laughed and ruffed the little girl's hair, "Come over here," she said as she carried the little girl in her arms, her elder brother looking distressed.

"You can stand here if you want?" Touya pointed at the ground beside him. It would do no good if his tiny boy was caught in between attacks.

The boy stared at the ground, eyes fixed on Touya before saying with a straight face, "Don't wanna," walking and standing by Touko's side.

'…This is why I hate kids,' Touya murmured, irritated, "Next challenger!"


End file.
